Hitman: Codename 47
|eng = Glacier |genre = Stealth |platforms = Windows |mode = Single-Player |web = Codename 47 Webpage (ioi.dk) Hitman Webpage }} Hitman: Codename 47 (commonly abbreviated to "Codename 47") is a third-person stealth game developed by Io-Interactive, released in America on November 19th, 2000. It serves as both the first installment of the franchise, as well as Io-Interactive's debut in the gaming industry. Additionally, Codename 47 ''is the only PC-exclusive game in the series. Gameplay ''Codename 47 is a third-person stealth/shooter combo revolving around a bald-headed assassin known as Agent 47, who is hired by the International Contract Agency (also known as "The Agency"), a conglomerate of professional assassins who provide their services to wealthy or otherwise influential customers while also being affiliated with organizations like the FBI, the CIA, MI5 and even the UN on several occasions. Agent 47 is tasked with eliminating several high-profile criminals, located in various parts of the world. During these assassinations, the player, controlling Agent 47, can acquire and use a wide range of weapons, straining from semi-automatic pistols to rapid-fire rifles, however the player is also provided with melee weaponry such as the Fiber Wire or the Oyabun knife, a more silent alternative. While it is a stealth title, the game does not necessarily enforce such an approach, allowing the player to engage at their own discretion, thus highlighting the sandbox element of the series. However, there are certain restrictions implemented depending on the "loudness" of the player's actions. For example, the player is penalized for killing civilians, meaning that the Agency deducts a certain "cleanup" fee from Agent 47's account, a fee which grows depending on the number of non-target casualties the player inflicts. Before any assignment, the player is provided with a briefing, consisting of intelligence on the target, a map detailing the area where 47 is to encounter the target, and a list of weapons that they can purchase. The briefing is managed by a controller at the Agency. Every agent is assigned his own controller, Diana Burnwood being the one in charge of Agent 47's briefings. The intelligence is usually comprised of a picture of the target, sometimes video footage as well, along with information including height, weight and a brief rundown of their criminal career. The weaponry varies on the mission played. Plutonium Runs Loose for example allows the player to buy a minigun, while The Lee Hong Assassination only offers a list of pistols and SMGs, although higher-caliber weapons such as the Blaser Jagdwaffen R93 Sniper can usually be found on location. The game relies heavily on the disguise system. Save for the Training mission and the Colombian arc, the player begins the missions wearing Agent 47's Suit, which restricts the access to areas such as staff quarters, but most importantly it almost always prevents the player from reaching the target. Thus, Agent 47 can acquire, lethally or otherwise, certain disguises, which allow him to pass by security unnoticed and even wield weapons almost freely, depending on the disguise. Plot Clone #47 A mysterious voice awakens the protagonist, Clone #47, via a speaker. #47 is shackled to a bed in a locked, padded cell. As the clone slowly comes round, the door unlocks and the voice begins guiding #47. Firstly, the clone is to get rid of his hospital robes by putting on the suit awaiting him on the other side of the door. The voice emphasizes that #47 should have the utmost faith in its guidance, since the man behind the speaker acts as both his mentor and guide. With the voice instructing him further on, the player goes through an obstacle course, learns to use different kinds of weapons, ranging from a fiber wire to knives, submachine guns and even a sniper rifle, and finally, he changes his clothes once again, disguising himself as one of the guards, which allows him to escape the asylum. It is then revealed that a camera had been carefully monitoring his every step during the training session. A mysterious figure is watching #47 and as the clone escapes the asylum, the man laughs and rests in his chair, satisfied. Kowloon Triads in Gang War A year passed since 47 escaped the asylum. During this time period, he joined the International Contract Agency, and quickly acquired the title of Agent. It is now the year 2000 and we see Agent 47 deployed in Hong Kong for a rather difficult assignment. As soon as the sun dawns, Agent 47 opens the window of his motel room and reflects on his whereabouts. The laptop on the table begins beeping, prompting the agent to check his inbox. Diana Burnwood, his personal controller at the Agency, has just sent him the briefing for his mission. The message details an intricate plan to assassinate the Red Dragon Triad leader Lee Hong, one of the most dangerous people in Hong Kong. Slaying a Dragon The Agency stresses that while Agent 47 could reach Hong and eliminate him, it would be impossible for him to flee the city alive afterwards. Thus, a plan has been devised, a plan that would almost destroy the Red Dragon Triad, subsequently weakining Lee Hong's influence over the Hong Kong mob and authorities, thus allowing Agent 47's escape following the hit. Agent 47 begins setting the plan's wheels in motion. He starts by killing a Red Dragon negotiator during a meeting, which prompts the Blue Lotus Triad to come in high numbers to Lee Hong's restaurant for a peace truce. 47 intercepts this meeting as well and massacres the entire Blue Lotus delegation, bringing the two triads on the brink of an all-out gang war. The police, who are on Lee Hong's payroll, intervene to preserve the peace. One last meeting is set on neutral grounds, with the Hong Kong Chief of Police himself participating. 47 assassinates both him and the Blue Lotus negotiator while making it seem like it was the Red Dragon Triad's doing, therefore severing Lee Hong's ties with the authorities. As such, most of Lee Hong's protection is now gone. With the Red Dragon Triad weakened, Lee Hong is finally in a vulnerable position, allowing Agent 47 to engage. The client however wants the Red Dragon Triad completely wiped out, so in addition to having to kill Lee Hong, Agent 47 is required to steal a Jade Figurine from the triad's headquarters. It is implied that losing the figurine, a dragon-shaped statue, would damage the triad's morale beyond repair. The Jade Figurine is locked in one of the many safes in the triad's restaurant. Agent 47 acquires the safe combination from Lei Ling, a prostitute working in Lee Hong's brothel, in exchange for helping her escape, then learns the safe's location from a captured CIA agent named Carlton Smith. The CIA agent also informs 47 that in order to get to Lee Hong, he will have to get rid of Zhun, Lee Hong's large bodyguard, who follows the triad leader anywhere and even tastes his food. Agent 47 acquires the Jade Figurine and trades it for a vial of poison, which he then uses on Lee Hong's food. However, Zhun is the one who tastes the meal first, thus exposing 47's attempt to poison Lee Hong. The triad leader runs away and 47 tries to pursue him, but is held down by a dying Zhun. The agent manages to kill the bodyguard and proceeds to track down Lee Hong, who has retreated to his office. Agent 47 ultimately catches up with Lee Hong and assassinates him without anyone noticing. On his desk, 47 finds a cryptic letter, detailing a secret project that Lee Hong was apparently involved in. The agent then escapes Hong Kong unscathed and proceeds to his next assignment. Colombian Exploration After Agent 47's time in Hong Kong, the Agency presents him with another challenge. He is to assassinate the feared drug lord Pablo Belisario Ochoa, a man said to have nine lives. Like Lee Hong, Pablo Ochoa was heavily guarded. Agent 47 needed to cooperate with the local U'wa Tribe, due to the U'wa Chieftain having knowledge of a secret passage that Agent 47 must use to get to Pablo Ochoa's base undetected. But, the Chieftain would not let Agent 47 pass until he has found the U'wan Idol. Agent 47 finds the U'wa Idol, and the Chieftain tasks Agent 47 again, this time with saving his brother from a locked-down bridge to the east. Agent 47 saves the brother, killing all of Ochoa's soldiers in the area, and enters through the secret passage into Ochoa's camp. God of the Jungle After co-operating with the U'wa tribe, Agent 47 is sent over a narrow rope bridge onto the second part of the U'wa camp. There, lives the U'wa tribe's god Tezcatlipoca, god of death. Agent 47 gave a boar sacrifice to Tezcatlipoca, which allowed him to pass Tezcatlipoca and into the Drug Lord's camp. The Man With Nine Lives After Agent 47 found his way into Pablo Ochoa's camp, he quickly infiltrated Ochoa's fenced perimeter, then his mansion, and killed Ochoa on the third floor. Afterwards, Agent 47 blew up the laboratory containing the camp's supply of drugs, and escaped of Colombia. Bombings at the Bath Hotel A new mission came after the incident in Colombia, and Agent 47 was tasked to assassinate Frantz Fuchs, an Austrian terrorist who was planning to bomb the Hotel Gallàrd, where leaders of many great nations attended for a peace summit. The client requested Agent 47 to kill Frantz and take the bomb. Unlike his other targets, Fuchs was not powerful nor well guarded, giving Agent 47 the capability to kill him directly and take the bomb with him, and out of the hotel. A Gunrunner's Paradise When this mission was requested by a client, Diana informed Agent 47 that someho the previous targets and this one were all connected, that each one had some involvement in French Legion together. However, the mission had to be done as usual. The target was Arkadij Jegorov, also known as Boris. Unlike previous targets, Jegorov's whereabouts were unknown and needed to be located. Agent 47 needed to track down an arms dealer, Ivan Zilvanovitch, who worked with Boris. By bugging the suitcase containing a large sum of money, he managed to locate the ship in which his target was residing. However, Jegorov had prepared a bomb and an escape way if somehow something went wrong. Agent 47 was forced to kill him silently, almost acting like a shadow. By donning a guard's suit, he was able to enter the ship and killed Jegorov, but the bomb was ready to detonate. Fortunately, Agent 47 was able to disarm the bomb. As the bomb was an old model, he had no trouble to stop it. Then, he brought the ship to international waters for an Agency pickup to arrive and evacuate him. The Asylum The Agency was in turmoil. They realized that the clients for the four previous missions were all one and the same, violating one of the Agency's rules. Yet, the client was so powerful that even the ICA's board of directors accepted one final request from him. The target was Dr. Kovacs, a doctor in a Romanian hospital with high security, disabling 47 to bring any weapons from outside. He arrived in the hospital and entered by using alias. The receptionist let him in, but unknown to Agent 47, he phoned a mysterious man about his arrival. This man, in turn, called SWAT. On the other hand, Agent 47 managed to meet Kovacs. However, during their conversation, Agent 47 remembered him as the one who injected a needle to him. Kovacs, surprised, began to fear 47, and told him that it was all Ort-Meyer's fault. Just in time, a team of SWAT stormed the front and entered the hospital to take down 47. The fate of Dr. Kovacs is unknown, but 47 nonetheless found an appropriate disguise. Free of suspicion, he explored the hospital and found Agent Smith there, drugged and chained. Freeing him, Smith paid it back by revealing a secret passage to basement. Readying himself, he descended below. Meet Your Brother Accessing the basement he escaped from one year ago, he found out that it was used as a place for clones experiment. Suddenly, a voice come out from the speaker, Dr. Ort-Meyer himself, the very same voice from one year ago. Then, he revealed everything to 47, his creation and him intentionally releasing him to eliminate his former friends, and finally, he told him that he had to be killed. With more than a dozen No. 48s, an army of clones similar to Agent 47, they attempted to assassinate the hitman, but his years of training proved to be superior to the clones as he slaughtered all of them. With Ort-Meyer his final target, he entered his chamber. Ort-Meyer came out and approached 47. Suddenly, he jumped in to 47 with stun gun in his hand to incapacitate him. However, the hitman showed his own creator his prowess and shot him. Bleeding and about to die, he muttered one last phrase: "What good is a bullet proof vest, when death strikes from within?" Finally, Agent 47 coldly snapped his neck, ending Ort-Meyer's life. Missions #Training #Kowloon Triads in Gang War #Ambush at the Wang Fou Restaurant #The Massacre at Cheung Chau Fish Restaurant #The Lee Hong Assassination #Find the U'wa Tribe #The Jungle God #Say Hello to My Little Friend #Traditions of the Trade #Gunrunner's Paradise #Plutonium Runs Loose #The Setup #Meet Your Brother Targets *Red Dragon Negotiator *Blue Lotus Emissary *Blue Lotus Triad Members *(Another) Red Dragon Negotiator *Hong Kong Chief of Police *Lee Hong *Pablo Ochoa *Frantz Fuchs *Arkadij Jegorov *Dr. Kovacs *Numerous No. 48's *Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer VIPs *Blue Lotus Emissary *Lei Ling *Agent Smith *Ivan Zilvanovitch Weapons Firearms *AMT 1911 'Hardballer' *Beretta '92 *Desert Eagle Mark XIX *Luger P08 *Derringer *Heckler & Koch MP5 **Heckler & Koch MP5SD *IMI Uzi *Kalashnikov AK-47 *Kalashnikov AK103 *M16A2 *Blaser Jagdwaffen R93 Sniper *Walther WA2000 *US Army M60 *M134 Minigun *Franchi PA3/215 *Mossberg Persuader Shotgun *Sawn-off Shotgun Melee Weapons *Fiber Wire *Oyabun knife *Pentagon knife *Kitchen knife *Meat Cleaver *Poison Syringe Other *Poison *Bomb Additionally, some weapons usable only by NPC's and not by the player are featured: *Stun Gun *Blowgun *Chinese Sword Reception Hitman: Codename 47 generally got mixed reviews. It got a 7.5 from IGN, rating it good, and the critic in humor saying "I was considering an exciting new career before I played this game"IGN Review. The game got a 73.65% from GameRankingsGameRankings Reviews, and a 73 from Metacritic, and a 7.7 out of it's user scoreMetacritic Review. IMDb gave the game a 6.9 out of 10Internet Movie DataBase Review. GameSpot gave the game a 5.2, saying "Even if you like the basic premise and action of the game, a number of very seriously flaws quickly sap up the entertainment."GameSpot Review Eurogamer gave the game 8 of 10Eurogamer Review, and GOG gave the game a 4.1/5GOG (Good Old Games) Page. On Steam, the user reviews reached overall a "Mostly Positive", with around 75% user reviews (out of 1,090) being positive, which gives the game a 7/10.Steam Page Gallery BoxArtBackC47.jpg|''Hitman: Codename 47''s box art (back). Promotional Art HC47-SanitariumPromotionalArt.png|Promotional screenshot of Agent 47 killing Dr. Ort-Meyer in an Asylum office (instead of Dr. Kovacs). HC47-ThermalBathPromotionalArt.png|Promotional screenshot of Frantz Fuchs in the Hotel Gallàrd's thermal bath (instead of his brother, Fritz). Trivia *''Hitman: Codename 47'' is the only game so far to be developed solely for Windows. *If the player allows Agent 47's bank account to go beneath $0, the Agency will "cancel" the 47's account, making the player fail the game, and thus restarts the mission. So far, this is the only game to have that function (as it is the only Hitman game where you lose money for partaking in a mission). References de:Hitman: Codename 47 es:Hitman: Codename 47 it:Hitman: Codename 47 pt-br:Hitman: Codename 47 ru:Hitman: Codename 47 Category:Games Category:Hitman Category:Hitman: Codename 47 Category:Featured Articles